Inner Demons
by Dresden-Complex
Summary: Asira loves her peaceful life in Konoha, but when the Akatsuki finds out about the ancient demon she holds inside of her, will her life be shattered or will she find a new life with one who's shared the struggle of losing everything they ever had? ItaxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Warning: This story is rated M for the reasons you think it is, aka language, violence, and sexual content. If you don't like any of the aforementioned please don't read!**

**Note: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, Asira belongs to Midenigufutsu koyote. No stealing please!!**

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Tsunade looked at the young girl with a sad expression. The girl's amber eyes were swollen from the tears she had shed and her tan skin was covered with bruises. Whoever her attackers had been they had ran off and left her for dead. Tsunade could not imagine who could do such a thing to a child and her heart was filled with pity as she watched the little girl cower by a tree, terrified that she would be hurt further by this new comer.

Tsunade knew she could not leave the girl like this. With her knowledge of medical ninjutsu it would be an easy task to heal the girl's wounds. Tsunade made up her mind and she slowly moved toward the girl, not wanting to frighten her further. When the young girl saw the stranger moving toward her, her amber eyes widened and she began to scoot away. She didn't want to be hurt again. Why wouldn't these people just leave her alone?

"Go away!" she yelled in a squeaky voice. Tsunade was not surprised. She merely smiled gently and knelt down by the girl with a gentle smile on her face. The girl didn't interpret Tsunade's efforts as kindness and she curled against the tree next to her, shutting her eyes tight. She was sure that more pain would come upon her in an instant but she felt nothing. Only the quite of the forest met her. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that Tsunade was holding a hand out to her.

"I promise, I won't hurt you. I just want to help you, that's all," Tsunade said in a comforting tone. "Trust me." The young girl wasn't sure what to do, but she was tired of running, and this person was the first in a long time to show her true kindness. Maybe it was a risk, but she was ready to live a normal life. And so, without a second thought, she took Tsunade's hand and her life began anew.

It had been eleven years since Asira had come to Konoha. She had finally achieved the peaceful life that she had wanted but could have never had in her old village. No one there understood, but Grandma Tsunade understood everything and she treated Asira with such kindness. She was told that no one else had to know about the ancient demon inside of her, and because of that, she had many friends and a happy life.

Asira thought of how perfect this was as she threw open the dark curtains letting the morning sun spill into her apartment. She loved to watch the sunrise over Konoha, it made the village seem even more like heaven to her. "Good morning Konoha!" she said happily as she threw the windows open and leaned against the sill.

"It looks like another perfect day in paradise," she said with as a smile as the sun rose higher, reflecting beautifully in her amber eyes. She was so caught up in the sunrise that when she finally turned to look at the clock she almost screamed.

"7:00!! Man, Grandma Tsunade's gonna kill me if I'm late again!" she squeaked as she ran to the dresser and pulled out some clothes. She threw the garments on as quickly as she could and looked in the mirror to make sure her appearance was complete. The person who stared back at her in the mirror no longer looked like a young woman but rather an effeminate young boy. She smirked, grabbed her bag, and ran out the door. This was already shaping up to be a hectic day.

Tsunade looked up as the door to her office slammed open. "Sorry…I'm late…Grandma," Asira panted as she gripped the door frame trying to catch her breath.

"That's the fifth time this month that you've been late, Asira," she said curtly. Asira chuckled.

"Come on Grandma, that's not that bad," she said with a shrug. Tsunade eyes her with annoyance.

"The month only started last week," Tsunade said.

"Oh… well you know how that works," Asira said, drooping from embarrassment. Tsunade sighed.

"Asira, you know that you need to be here on time as often as possible. I can't send you out on missions unless I know that the phoenix is under control," Tsunade continued. Asira twitched at the mention of her demon. Aside from the nine tailed beasts in existence there were also ancient demons that were brought to the world from time to time. When these demons appeared even they were sealed into humans in an attempt to bottle their massive amounts of energy. When Asira was young the thousand tailed phoenix had appeared in her village and she had been chosen as its container. Because the ancient demons were more powerful than the modern demons their holders were often cast out and seen as nothing more than ticking time bombs. It was widely accepted that eventually ancient demons would take over their host and neither Tsunade nor Asira wanted the phoenix to take her over yet.

Tsunade looked at Asira carefully gauging her reaction. "I know you don't like to talk about any of this Asira, but you also know that it's very important. We can't let the phoenix…"

"I know already!" Asira yelled. Tsunade raised an eyebrow, not prepared for Asira's sudden outburst. Asira covered her mouth quickly, a rather childish reaction, but normal for her. In her old village she had always been punished for not holding her tongue. "I'm sorry," she said quickly with a respectful bow. Tsunade got up from behind the desk and walked to Asira, taking the young girl in her arms.

"It's alright," Tsunade said comfortingly as she patted Asira's head. Asira felt the tears build in the corners of her eyes and spill.

"I just want to be normal," she sobbed as she buried her face in Tsunade's chest.

"I know. You're not the only one."

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**AN: Well this is the beginning of my second request. I hope that y'all like it and are looking forward to the second chapter ^^**


	2. Mission

**Yes, it's very late, but here it is finally! I hope that there are some funny parts that made it worth the wait!**

**I don't own Naruto.**

**Asira is an OC and belongs to Koyote-chan. No stealing!**

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"Hey Asira! It's not like you to be so late!" a cheerful blond said as she walked up to her team mates. Asira smiled and laughed.

"Don't worry Naruto, it's not like I'm turning into Kakashi-sensei or anything," she said. Naruto laughed as well.

"That's good! I'd be a little concerned if you started reading Make Out Paradise," Naruto replied with a mischievous smirk. At the comment Asira's face flushed with embarrassment.

"What makes you think I'd do that?!" she demanded as she slapped Naruto on the back of the head causing the boy to tumble over. The girl who had been watching the proceedings suddenly burst into laughter.

"Nice one, Asira!" the girl said, holding her sides.

"Thanks, Sakura," Asira replied, an evil smirk still plastered on her face.

"Oh my, what is with all the animosity all of a sudden?" a voice asked. The team looked behind them and saw their sensei standing on a tree, ironically holding a copy of the book in question. "I thought you all got along so well."

"Only when Naruto's not making idiotic comments," Asira said with a shrug. Kakashi sighed and jumped down from the tree.

"Well I hope you two make up soon. I have a new mission for you." At that Asira and Naruto perked up immediately.

"A mission?!" they both said , running toward Kakashi in eager anticipation.

"Uh… yes. It's an extended mission so I suggest you go and get all the things you'll need. We'll meet back here in two hours." Kakashi had barely finished his sentence before Asira and Naruto were off, running at a break neck speed toward their homes. Sakura laughed.

"It seems all you have to do to get those two motivated is mention a mission. Then they're off like shots!"

"Well in certain ways they are quite a lot alike," Kakashi replied.

Asira slammed her door open and grabbed a backpack from a near by shelf. "Finally, a mission! I guess Grandma Tsunade cleared me after all," she said with a grin. As she threw the backpack onto her bed she began to run about frantically grabbing anything and everything she thought she might need. However, as she rummaged through her dresser she stopped. In one of the drawers she had come across a slip of paper. All in all it was just an ordinary talisman with a simple prayer written on it… or that's what it masqueraded as.

Asira continued to look at the talisman, turning it over and over contemplatively in her hands. She knew what this was. This was supposed to seal the Phoenix's chakra should it ever escape. Because of the simple fact that it related to the Phoenix Asira despised that little slip of paper. After a moment of thought she moved to put the talisman back in the bottom of the drawer, but something stopped her.

"Are you sure? You might end up needing that." The hair on the back of Asira's neck stood up at the voice. She slowly lifted her head and looked into the mirror in front of her. Staring back from the glass was not her reflection, but the opaque image of a red plumed bird. The Phoenix.

"What do you want?" Asira growled. The Phoenix chuckled evilly.

"I wouldn't act so high and mighty in your position, my dear. After all, it's almost time."

"Time for what?" Asira asked, still defensive. At that the Phoenix looked surprised.

"You don't know? I'm sure you do. You can feel your chakra growing, can't you? You know what happens when my chakra becomes too much and overrides yours. If you want to protect your little friends I suggest you hold onto that strip of paper like your life depends on it. Who knows? It just might." Asira turned away in anger, but the Phoenix continued.

"Asira, you want to protect your friends don't you?" At that Asira stopped and turned back to the mirror. There was nothing she wanted more than to protect her friends.

"You know that I want to protect them, Suzuka. My friends are my life… they're the only ones who ever accepted me. I don't want that to go away. I don't want to be alone again…" Asira could feel the tears beginning to well up in her eyes, and she did her best to choke them back. Suzuka, the Phoenix, looked at her with a sad gaze.

"Then don't leave such important essentials behind. You know how to protect them." At the Suzuka's reflection in the mirror and disappeared leaving Asira alone once again. She swallowed hard and looked down at the talisman lying on the dresser. She shut her eyes, picked it up, and shoved it into her pocket before grabbing her bag and running out the door.

"Almost late again! You really have to get it together, Asira!" Naruto's bright smile met her again and she brightened.

"Sorry, I got caught up by something," she said rubbing her head in embarrassment.

"It's alright. We're not in too much of a rush at the moment," Kakashi replied as he closed his book. "We can just take our time and have a nice trip to our destination," he continued as he began to walk toward the exit to the village.

"Sounds good to me!" Naruto said, tagging quickly after Kakashi. Asira watched the two as they walked and sighed.

'I could kill them soon,' she thought sadly, clenching her fists. 'I have to do whatever I can to protect them. If they left, who would be there for me?'

"Are you alright, Asira?" Sakura asked, touching her on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I'm just a little tired now that the adrenaline of the news has worn off," she said, a nervous smile braking over her face.

"Well if you need me to carry you I will!" Sakura replied with a playful punch to Asira's arm. Asira laughed.

"No worries, I can still walk… I hope…" She put on her best fake 'dying' face, slumping over to the ground. Now it was Sakura's turn to laugh out loud.

"Hey you guys! Come on!" Naruto yelled from further up the road.

"He's so impatient," Sakura said with a shake of the head.

"Ah, I understand," Asira said straightening. "Let's go!" Sakura smiled and ran after Asira who was already bounding toward Naruto and Kakashi.

'Please, Suzuka,' Asira thought, 'Help me protect them.'

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**AN: Jeez, I'm lazy! Sorry for the long wait and I'll try to get part 3 up sooner!**


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